Allia

I sighed deeply as the sound of birds chirping in the sunlight of the morning reached my ears, pulling my over imaginative mind from its deep slumber- rather unwillingly if I might add. Sleep seemed to be the only place one could escape from the troubles of life. Our only refuge from the pain of the heart- the hardest pain to heal. I was once told that the mind cannot decipher between reality and dreams. I often wonder myself if this world I stumble through is not a dream. Or a nightmare.

I pulled myself out from the warmth of the navy comforter on my bed, rubbing my eyes until they adjusted to my surroundings. The window on the wall opposite my bed was always the first thing I saw in the morning, seeming it took up ½ of it. Shuffling over, I looked out onto the busy street in front of our house, observing the numerous yellow buses that went zooming past. I turned to look at my calendar above the big wooden desk pushed up against the wall, spotting that dreadful date: Monday. I groaned out loud as I realised that the summer holidays had yet again come to an end, leaving me with no choice but to drag myself back to the world of stress, peer pressure and fake friendships. Yes, you guessed right, school. After already two years of high school behind me, I knew exactly how to handle this year: do my homework and more importantly, stay on Jessica’s good side. Who was Jessica to me?, you might ask. Well, she was your classic example of a queen bee. She was the leader of our group of friends to say the least. If Jess thought a shirt was stupid, everyone thought the shirt was stupid. If Jess did not like someone, everyone did not like them. It was ridiculous how mindlessly people followed her around like she was God, practically kissing her feet. I suppose I could not really talk though, considering the fact that I was still in her “clique”. I mean, most girls would kill to be the best friend of the most pretty, popular girl in the school but in reality, it was hell. I knew that one wrong move, one wrong word and I would be shunned from the group in an instant. We had to be exactly who Jessica wanted us to be. We were all clones- mindless clones.

I trudged over to the bathroom in the hall and glared at my reflection in the oval mirror. My face never ceased to annoy me, covered in little brown freckles, my blond eyelashes blending in with my equally blond bangs covering my forehead. I picked up the brush from beside the sink and began detangling the long strands of hair down to my elbows. After applying a few strokes of mascara and a brush of blush I observed myself in the mirror. I guess I did not look too bad in my new light wash jeans and white Nixon belt but my baby blue T-shirt was anything but original. Maybe I would get some style this year. Probably not. Jess wouldn’t like it. She always had to look the best out of us all.

Grabbing my binder, purse and an oatmeal-to-go, I headed out the door. Unfortunately, I was just close enough to the school that I was forced to walk the distance of 5 kilometres, putting me in a terrible mood right off the bat. What person was ever excited to go to the wonderful high school of B.McPhee though? Just its name made me want to gag.

I glared at the big brick building as it came into view, surrounded by laughing teens, ready for another great year. I spotted my friend Jenny to my right, wrapped in the arms of her latest boyfriend: a greasy smoker who never talked to anyone but her. I never understood why she went for the smokers.

I approached her, noticing her attire had not changed much. She was still wearing her usual black sweats and bunnyhug look. It wasn’t the most attractive look but at least it was comfortable, I guess.

I came to a stop in front of her. “Sup, Tiff?” “Hey, Jenny. How was the summer” “Same as always. Visited my dad some and then my mom and hung out with this guy the rest.” She looked up at her boyfriend behind her. “What about you?” she asked with little enthusiasm. She yawned. “Not much. Just hung out at home. What was your name again?” I asked Jenny’s boyfriend. He didn’t answer. “It’s Chris.” Jenny replied. “Oh.” I said. A screechy voice interrupted our lacking conversation. “Ladies!”

I turned around on my heal to see the gorgeous Jessica marching towards us. All eyes turned as she flipped her long hair over her shoulder and stopped in front of us. She was wearing a white see-through t-shirt with an extremely short jean skirt and enough eyeliner for three people. Her perfectly tanned skin glowed in the sunlight making us all squint with jealousy. Why did I always have to be the pasty one? “Ladies, I am so exhausted!” She gasped, putting one hand on her hip and the other on her forehead. “Here, lean on me Jess.” Jenny offered. “What’s up with you?” “Oh, I’ve only been at dance camp like, the whole summer! I can hardly walk.” “Poor you.” I said, trying to make my voice sound sympathetic. She closed her eyes and sighed, leaning her head on Jenny’s shoulder. “Yes, poor me.” I rolled my eyes wondering why I put up with her, but then I remembered what would happen if I didn’t. I would be out of the clique, and the only thing worse than being in a clique was not being in one. Sure, being in a clique meant being surrounded by jerks and backstabbers but at least we could look popular and pretend we were happy. To be an outcast meant to be taunted and laughed at constantly by those who thought they were above you. Only the strong could survive such torture. I was most definitely anything but strong.

“…So, I was just going up for the lift, and then my partner like, dropped me right there on stage! So I just started yelling at him in front of the whole crowd and I was like, oh my god you’re the biggest effin loser of my life!” Jess was telling us one of her stories again.

“Good for you, Jess!” Jenny was always her biggest supporter.

“Hey, guys!” came from my left. Two big arms wrapped around my shoulders and Jenny’s as I looked up into a pair of green eyes covered in shaggy brown hair.

“Reese!” I laughed, giving him a hug. Reese was the kind of guy everyone loved. He seemed to always have a smile on his face.

I stepped back from Reese as Jenny released Jessica and Chris to take her turn. I smiled as I observed that Reese’s outfit had once again proved his flawless sense of style. He was wearing a plaid T, probably some type of designer jeans and sunglasses that belonged in a magazine. His light brown skin and naturally toned figure made all the girls drool. It seemed like everyone wanted him for their own, especially Jessica.

When it came to Jessica’s turn to give him a hug she instantly marched over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, her face inches from his.

“Oh, Reese.” She sighed, looking up into his eyes. “I’ve missed you so much. Haven’t you missed me?”

“Yeah, course Jess. I’ve missed everyone.” He responded smiling at us. He reached up to remove Jessica’s arms from his neck but she tightened her grip.

“Why didn’t you call?” She demanded.

“I don’t know. I guess I’ve been pretty busy with modeling.” He said nervously.

“How did that go?” I asked.

Reese flashed me one of his perfectly white smiles.

“It was sick, Tiff! And there was this one girl-“

“A girl!” exclaimed Jessica. She glared up at him and he looked back, unsure of what to say. It was Jenny who finally spoke.

“Hey, look who’s comin.”

Jessica slowly unwound her arms from Reese and turned to look.

A tall black skinned girl was strutting our way, her dyed blond hair draped over one shoulder and her petite white chanel purse hanging on the other. She stopped to my right, completing our circle.

The squeal of the bell wiped the smile from my face however, as I realised summer holidays were really over.

“See y’all in class.” Jenny walked away, Chris close behind.

I reached inside my purse and rummaged around until I pulled out my schedule. It looked like I had history first in room #209 with Mr. Chipanny. My least favourite class with my least favourite teacher. Great.

Filora hurried to my side, her black high heels clacking on the pavement.

“How are you doin, girl?” She asked, a worried expression on her face.

Out of all the people in our group, Filora was basically my best friend. She was guaranteed to have your back in any situation and I could confide in her with anything. I knew I could trust her.

Something had happened this summer. Something…bad. Only Filora knew about it, with the exception of my family.

“I guess, I’m not doing too great.” I responded, looking at the ground. We kept walking, slowly entering the school.

“I know it’s hard.”

“It’s more than hard, Filora.” I whispered. I couldn’t talk about this right now. I wiped my eyes as they began to fill up with tears.

“I gotta get to class.” I murmured.

“We’ll talk later, Tiff.”

I quickened my step, disappearing into the crowds. I reached room #209 and walked into an extremly crowded classroom. There had to be at least 40 kids in here. I took a seat at the back beside a girl I didn’t know.

Class started and I glared at Mr. Chippany, a bald man in his forties with a voice as exciting as a funeral for a full forty five minutes, not taking in a single word he said. When I couldn’t stand even trying to listen to the man anymore, I turned my attention to the girl beside me.

She was a skinny girl with wavy black hair the colour of night that went down to her waist and eyes just as black. Her skin was a light brown and her features were small and soft. She was wearing a flowy strapless green dress that went down to her ankles. Around her neck was a long wooden, beaded necklace and on her wrists were numerous wooden bracelets. This girl was shockingly beautiful! Jessica was terribly ugly compared to this girl. She almost had a certain glow about her…like an angel.

Her black eyes flickered towards me, making eye contact. I decided I wanted to know who this girl was and where she came from. I know it sounds weird, but you don’t see someone that beautiful everyday. I opened up my notebook and took out my blue pen. I put my pen to paper.

-Hi :)

I pushed the notebook onto her desk. She looked up at me, surprised, but then pulled out her own pen. It was green.

*Hello

-U new here?

*Ya. This is my first day at B. McPhee.

-O really? Where did u go b4?

*I was homeschooled actually.

-Wow, this must be a big change then

*Yes, I’ll get used to it though.

-So…what do u think of the wonderful world of high school?

*Um, do all the teachers have as monotone a voice as Mr. Chippany?

-No, don’t worry :) it’s just him. He’s the worst!

*Haha, I think he may need some glasses.

Mr. Chippany was reading a paper, holding it out, far away from his self.